


Man Out Of Time

by thiefwithoutaname



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Endgame, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fix-It, M/M, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 03:43:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18652213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiefwithoutaname/pseuds/thiefwithoutaname
Summary: **Endgame Spoilers AheadThe task was simple; Put back the infinity stones in their correct timelines and return to the future.Things get complicated when Steve finds a timeline where he is already dead and he can’t just leave well enough alone.





	Man Out Of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> The first chapter starts just after Steve hands over the mantle of Captain America to Sam and Sam asks about his wedding ring. The rest is what I wish would’ve happened while Steve was time jumping.

“So… you gonna tell me about her?” Sam asked. 

Steve’s wedding ring glinted in the afternoon sunlight that filtered through the trees. He hesitated for a second and seemed deep in thought before responding. 

“Him. Actually. I could… I could tell you about him if you have the time,” he paused, “I know you must have somewhere to be.” 

“Not at all,” Sam smiled, “Hey, Bruce! Bucky! Come here.” 

The other two came over and Steve began telling them how he got stuck in the past. 

-

Steve told them everything, starting with the stones and finally ending after his return of the tesseract to the SHIELD facility. The return was harder this time around without Tony helping him but he made it work. Well, just barely. 

As he was slipping it into its case again he heard the sound of a gun cocking itself behind him. He slowly raised his hands and turned around to face his assailant. It was none other than Madame Director of SHIELD, Peggy Carter herself. She held the gun pointed at him for a minute before slowly lowering it. Her eyes watered and tears threatened to spill over as she locked her jaw. 

“... Peggy, it’s me, Steve-” he started, and before he could finish that sentence she had already put away her gun and ran up to pull him into a hug. She held him close, taking only a moment to rest her head on his chest, before moving away again to stand up straight.

“You have _so_ much explaining to do,” she said staring at him with a smile on her face. 

She then turned to lead him up to her office. She ignored the stares of her coworkers as they muttered about Captain America’s return. When they reached her office they sat across the desk from each other, and she folded her hands and looked at him expectantly. He rubbed his neck and looked around her office avoiding eye contact. He forgot how imposing she could be, and just how nervous he was when he talked to her. 

“This is a real nice thing you’ve got going here Peg, really,” he started. She clicked her tongue. 

“Steve, I need you to tell me why and how you aren’t dead, and I need you to tell me now,” she said. He sighed and took a second to gather his thoughts. 

“Well, it. It all started when I crashed Red Skull’s plane. I got trapped in the ice, y’see, and it kept me alive for well, decades,” he paused, “God Peggy, I’ve been alive for so long. So unbelievably long.” 

She seemed to ponder this for a second before deciding something. He shifted nervously under her gaze and waited for her to react. 

“You aren’t my Steve then, are you? I.” she closed her eyes and seemed to breathe deeply, “We found your body weeks after the crash. There was… Howard told me, there was nothing left we could do for you but give you the honor of a proper burial. So we did.”

Steve nodded as he began to realize the reality he was living in. This was a universe without Captain America. The version of himself here had been found dead and was long buried by the time he had appeared in the timeline. The more he thought about it and the events that had come to pass in his timeline, the more he was shaken by the thought of a world without him. 

“I… I don’t know what to say. I can explain how I got here, but.” He frowned, “I don’t know if you’ll believe it all.” 

“Well, you’re here in front of me now, the same sweet, sincere, painfully awkward man I met in 1943. I trusted you then, and I certainly trust you now,” she stated. He looked down, and then back to her and realized she really would trust and understand all of the extraordinary things he had to tell her. So he did. He detailed his life in the other timeline up until the last second when he returned the tesseract to its case. She was frowning at him and looked rather disappointed actually. 

“So… you don’t believe me?” He asked sheepishly. 

“No Steve, I believe every word. I’m just rather unhappy that you thought to _steal_ from me rather than just ask to borrow the cube,” she said. 

“I was on a time crunch!” He responded indignantly. 

“Either way… I’m glad you managed to save all of those people,” she said, “You must be very tired. Would you like to come home for dinner and meet the Mrs?” 

He appeared surprised for a minute before she snorts. 

“What? You thought I wouldn’t move on after you?” She grinned. 

“No! Absolutely not! It’s just... I didn’t think… I mean not that it’s a bad thing, but I just didn’t think you were into… other women,” Steve sputtered, “I’m… I’m real glad you found someone for you.” 

“Yes, me too,” she tapped her fingers on her desk now, either because she was deep in thought or to show off her wedding ring, “I think she’s really wonderful Steve. And I think you two would get along spectacularly.” 

“Then what’re we waiting for?” He smiled, “Let’s go meet her then.” 

-

Angie is nothing like Peggy, Steve decides. She’s scatterbrained and talkative and giggly. She fawns over him when they first get to the house and she fawns over Peggy in equal measure. Peggy looks at her with a softness unmatched by anything Steve’s ever encountered. She really loves this woman, and he couldn’t be more happy for her. He feels a twinge in his heart and a voice says “this is what you could’ve had” but he ignores it. He couldn’t have had this, because he didn’t. Keep moving forward. 

Angie talks a mile a minute going on about how she would’ve loved to have some warning before _Captain America himself_ walked through her door. She rambles about how she’s gonna have to make something really nice for dinner now and flits away into the kitchen to start cooking. 

“Let me know if you need any help!” Peggy calls after her. She watches the doorway for a moment before turning back to Steve. 

“She’s… wow,” he says. She rolls her eyes. 

“Eloquent as always.” 

“No I mean, she’s… well, she’s perfect for you Peggy. She balances you out.” 

“She’s lovely. I’m lucky to have her,” she smiles, and he smiles too. It’s hard to be unhappy in a home with two people who clearly love each other to bits. They sit in comfortable silence until Peggy seems to suddenly remember something. 

“Oh, I’ve got something to show you!” She says as she bolts upright and crosses the room. She reveals a small record player and she flips through a collection of records. She throws one on and plays a song. 

“I’ve managed to keep these records well preserved so I can enjoy an old classic once in a while, but since you’re here,” she offers him a hand, “Would you be my dance partner tonight Mr. Rogers?” 

He almost blanks before taking her hand and rising to his feet. He lets her guide him into the proper position, and she tells him where to step and how to avoid making clumsy mistakes. They gently sway back and forth keeping their distance for a while before Steve steps on her foot by accident. She cries out in surprise. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you alright? Are you hurt?” He looked at her with concern, while she bursts out laughing. 

“Oh it’s going to take much more than that for you to hurt me,” she says. She steps in and hugs him again. He sighs in relief and wraps his arms around her. They sit like that for a while while the music plays on in the background. After a while they just start to sway to the rhythm in silence. Steve’s mind wanders to what could’ve been in his universe, with his Peggy. What would’ve happened if he could’ve had this dance with her? He also thinks for the first time to Bucky. 

Peggy and Angie got to be happy in this universe and in his universe he had had the opportunity to be happy with Bucky. Would they get married? Would they live their lives in domestic bliss? Would Bucky ever truly be okay again? He wondered about it for a while. It seemed like Peggy and Angie had the perfect lives here. Could Bucky be happy with something like this? Before he could begin to try and answer that question, Angie popped in. 

“Hey you two! It’s dinner time!” She grinned. Peggy pulled herself from Steve’s arms and walked over to Angie and kisses her cheek. 

“Thank you darling. Steve, be a dear and turn off the music will you?” She says and turns to kiss her wife. Steve walks over and shuts off the record player. He turns to them. Angie is squishing Peggy’s face between her fingers. 

“No more kisses! You have to eat dinner Miss Director Boss Lady!” She insists and drags Peggy by the hand into the other room while Peggy laughs. Steve follows behind, lagging just a little bit to give them their space. It occurs to him watching them and thinking about Bucky that the Bucky in this universe doesn’t have a Steve. 

“Hey. Hey Peg? Hope you don’t mind me asking but what happened to Bucky?” He asks. She takes a minute to turn and respond to him. 

“Bucky? Oh, he went missing. Well, we think that he died given that no one should’ve been able to survive a fall from that height. It was very unfortunate what happened.” 

He frowns again and furrows his brow. Had Bucky met the same fate here as he had in his home universe? Was this one also a brainwashed assassin, forced to further the power of the nazi organization Hydra? He felt his heart stutter in his chest. There was no Steve to bring him out of it. If Bucky had survived the fall, if he was out there now, he was never going to be set free. He would just be stuck in a cycle of endless torment. The thought made Steve feel sick. 

They sat down to eat at the table and Steve hardly touched his food. He was connecting dots from his universe to this one. This timeline has the same people for the most part so could it have the same events as well? Was SHIELD slowly being turned into Hydra from the inside out? Would it be safe to leave these people behind and run back to his own universe? 

“Steve!” He was jolted out of his train of thought by Peggy demanding his attention. Angie and her were both looking at him, Angie more starstruck than anything but both still had their eyes trained on him. 

“Yes?” He asked. 

“What in the world were you thinking about?” Peggy asked him.

“Peggy… How long are you willing to let me stay here?” He asks. She presses her lips into a firm line, knowing what his extended presence in her timeline surely means, while Angie squeals at the delight of having _Captain America_ stay in her home. He knows she won’t like it, but he has to stay. He has to make sure that SHIELD doesn’t fall and that Bucky is safe (or dead. But hopefully not.). The Steve Rogers from this timeline is dead, but the Steve Rogers that is alive and kicking is ready to make sure his past won’t come back to haunt this future. This time, he’s going to make it work


End file.
